1A-F: John Guthrie
JOHN GUTHRIE
Parents: William Guthrie b. 1682-98 – d. 1781-82 VA m.2 Frances Wilbourn
Birth Date: 25 July 1735
Birth Location: Christ Church, Middlesex County, Virginia
Baptism: 24 August 1735 in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia
Marriage: Martha (MNU) bef. 1775 in Virginia
Occupation: Unknown
Death Date: After 1782
Death Location: Unknown, possibly in Ware, Gloucester County, Virginia, USA
Burial: Unknown, probably in Gloucester County, Virginia, USA
MARTHA (MNU)
Parents: Unidentified
Birth Date: Unknown
Birth Location: Unknown
Baptism: Unknown
Guthrie Children: Frances (born bef. 1780)
Notes: John Guthrie’s birth and baptism are documented in the Christ Church Parish Register for 24 July 1735 and 24 August 1735. According to his brother, Benjamin Guthrie’s Feb 1780 will, John was residing in Gloucester County, Virginia, but stated in a way that indicated he was uncertain if he was still alive or dead. A 1770 Tax List of Gloucester County includes a John Guthrie, presumably this man. Another Tax List for 1782 in Ware, Gloucester, Virginia details the following: John Guthrie/Martha Guthrie – 180 acres – 9 Negroes, 5 Horses, 12 Cattle – Ware Parish. The First Census of the United States – Heads of Families – Virginia 1783 – Gloucester County does not list John Guthrie in Ware Parish or any other parish.
John and Martha (MNU) Guthrie had 1 child listed in Benjamin Guthrie’s will. John’s daughter Frances inherited a lump sum of Virginia currency. Presumably, he would have also identified any nephews if John Guthrie had any sons at the time. The will also specified in most other cases that the legacies therein were to be used for schooling. This was for both nephews and nieces named, with the exception of Frances Guthrie. This might indicate that in 1780 she was already past school age.
Potential Mistaken Identity:
Many online trees have linked this Frances Guthrie of Gloucester, VA as the wife of Charles Roane Sr. The Roane name is associated with Benjamin Guthrie’s last will & testament back in Middlesex, VA as one of its witnesses, and so it is perhaps an easy step to think John’s daughter would have married a Roane. Looking into the story of ‘Charles Roane the Immigrant and his wife Frances Roane, the first of the name in Virginia settled in Gloucester County, in 1664‘, compiled by Jefferson Sinclair Selden, Jr, Hampton, VA, it is mentioned that Charles obtained land in King and Queen County through his wife Frances Guthrie and that it was only later he purchased property in Gloucester County, VA and moved there. King and Queen County, Virginia is associated with a different lineage than the Guthrie-Wilbourn family.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – No known direct male descendants
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
READING & RESOURCES
BOOK: The Parish Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, VA. from 1653 to 1812, published by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia. Richmond, VA. Wm. Ellis Jones, Steam Book and Job Printer, 1897. Digital Repository: Internet Archive.
WEBSITE: Gloucester County Virginia Genealogy (Family Search)
All Gloucester County courthouse records were destroyed by fire in 1820; in 1865 most Gloucester County records were destroyed by fire on April 3, 1865. Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890
FAMILY HISTORY CATALOG: Gloucester County, Virginia Online Search Results